Online store launch checklist: 25 things to check before you go live

Short answer: before launching, check five areas: your products (photos, prices, stock, descriptions), payments (a real test order paid online and by COD), shipping and tax (rates, zones, GST on the invoice), legal and trust pages (contact, returns, privacy, terms, grievance contact), and search basics (page titles, sitemap submitted, your own domain). Then place a full test order end to end.

Products

1. Every product has at least four clear photos and a main photo of the same shape as the others.
2. Titles say what the product is, in the words buyers use.
3. Descriptions are your own and answer the obvious questions (size, material, care, what is in the box).
4. Prices, sale prices and stock are correct. Out-of-stock items are hidden or marked.
5. Variants (sizes, colours) each have their own stock and, where needed, their own photo.
6. HSN codes and GST rates are set on each product.

Payments

1. Your payment gateway is connected with live keys, not test keys.
2. UPI, cards and net banking all work: try each one with a small real payment.
3. COD is on or off as you intend, with any limits or fee you planned.
4. You have refunded one test payment, so you know how refunds work.

Shipping and tax

1. Shipping rates show correctly for an address in your city, your state and a far state.
2. Free-shipping thresholds work as described on your site.
3. The invoice shows your GSTIN, and CGST + SGST or IGST correctly for local and out-of-state orders.
4. Your courier account is ready and you know how to book a pickup.

Legal and trust pages

1. Contact page with a working phone number, email and business address.
2. Shipping policy: delivery areas, times and charges.
3. Return and refund policy: what, when, how and who pays.
4. Privacy policy and terms of service.
5. Grievance contact details, as required for e-commerce sellers by the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020.

Search and sharing

1. Your own domain is connected and the store loads on https.
2. Home, category and product pages have proper page titles and meta descriptions.
3. Your sitemap is submitted in Google Search Console.
4. Your logo, favicon and social sharing image look right when you paste the link into WhatsApp.

The final test

1. Place a complete order on your phone as a new customer: browse, add to cart, check out, pay, receive the confirmation email, and see the order in your admin.
2. Mark it shipped with a tracking number and check the customer is told.

After launch: your first week

• Tell your existing customers and contacts first; their orders and reviews build early trust.
• Answer every message quickly.
• Watch for abandoned carts and failed payments, and fix whatever caused them.
• Ask your first buyers for reviews.
• Check Google Search Console after a few days for indexing errors.

The most common launch mistakes

• Test payment keys left on. Orders look paid but no money arrives. Always place one real payment after switching to live keys.
• Shipping set to zero by accident. Every order then loses money on delivery.
• Broken links in the menu or footer. Click every one on your phone.
• Missing contact details. Buyers do not trust a store they cannot reach, and payment gateways may not approve it.
• Search engines blocked. Some stores stay hidden from Google because a "do not index" setting from the building phase was never removed. Check that your homepage can be indexed.
• Emails going to spam. Place a test order with a Gmail address and check where the confirmation lands.

Who should test your store

You know your store too well to see its problems. Ask two or three friends who have never seen it to buy something on their own phones while you watch without helping. Note every place they hesitate, scroll back or ask a question; those are the things to fix before you spend money on ads.

Plan your first month

Launching is the start, not the finish. Plan a simple first month: one announcement to your existing customers, a few posts on the social channels you already use, a weekly check of your analytics and Search Console, and one improvement each week based on what buyers actually did.

Printable summary

Area	Ready when
Products	Photos, titles, own descriptions, correct prices and stock, variants, HSN and GST set
Payments	Live keys, UPI, cards and net banking tested with real money, COD rules set, one refund tested
Shipping and tax	Rates checked for three distances, free-shipping rule works, invoice tax split correct, courier ready
Trust pages	Contact, shipping, returns and refunds, privacy, terms, grievance contact
Search and sharing	Own domain on https, page titles, sitemap submitted, link preview looks right
Final test	A full order placed, paid, shipped and tracked on a phone

Print it, tick each line, and keep it for the next time you add a big collection or change your payment or shipping setup: the same checks apply.

What to measure from day one

• Visitors and where they come from, so you know which channels are worth more effort.
• Conversion rate: orders divided by visits. A sudden drop usually means something broke.
• Average order value, which tells you whether bundles or free-shipping thresholds are working.
• Return and refusal rate, especially for COD.
• Repeat customers: the clearest sign that buyers like what they received.

Launching with CartWhizz

A CartWhizz store comes with a free address on cartwhizz.com, connecting your own domain on every plan, an automatic sitemap and robots.txt, GST-ready invoices with your GSTIN, and payment through gateways such as Razorpay, PayU, PhonePe and Paytm alongside cash on delivery. Start a free 7-day trial at cartwhizz.com/start, no card needed.

Frequently asked questions

What should I check before launching an online store?

Products, payments with a real test order, shipping rates, GST on invoices, legal pages (contact, returns, privacy, terms, grievance contact) and basic SEO like page titles and a submitted sitemap.

Which legal pages does an online store in India need?

At minimum a contact page, shipping policy, return and refund policy, privacy policy, terms of service and grievance officer details. Ask a lawyer to review them.

Should I place a test order before launch?

Yes. Place a full order as a new customer on your phone, pay with a real small payment, and follow it through to shipping and refund.

Sources

Official sources, checked 16 October 2026:

• Department of Consumer Affairs
• Google Search Console